About 6 years ago when Clever Baker Friend and I worked together we thought it would be a great idea to make some baked Christmas gifts to give to the people we worked with. At the time we had about 6 people to hand our treats out to and since then it has become a tradition. At its peak we made 35 packs for people but fortunately we have down sized a little since then. Something that hasn’t changed in that time is the joy we get from giving these boxes of hand made goodies to our friends and family. They seem to enjoy them too because each year we get asked if we will be making them again – we couldn’t stop now even if we wanted to!
Originally we would spend 1 or 2 whole days together baking and packaging while we listened to Christmas Carols, but with 3 children under 4 between us we find it easier to divide up the cooking and packaging to do it at home. Not nearly as fun, but far more practical than trying to coordinate it around naps, feeds and other activities. The packaging changes each year depending on the best bargain available this year, we opted for white cupcake boxes with simple baking paper so the food is the star. Our core menu consists of:
- Coconut Ice
- Turkish Delight White Christmas
- Curried Fruit and Nut Mix
- Panforte
Depending on the number of people we are baking for we may also make stained glass biscuits, shortbread and peppermint bark which means the boxes are often overflowing!
Feeling inspired? I thought I would include one of the simplest recipes for you to have a try this weekend.
Donna Hay’s Turkish Delight White Christmas
500g white chocolate chopped (I use Nestle Melts to avoid chopping)
250g Turkish Delight, chopped
Half cup of dried cranberries
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted through (I melt mine in the microwave). Remove from heat and stir through Turkish Delight and half of the dried cranberries.
- Spread onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and sprinkle with remaining dried cranberries.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.
- Cut into bite sized pieces.
It is so easy and quick to make and is so popular we double the recipe.
Next week I will be sharing some of the other recipes we have used so stay tuned!
